


Kunoichi

by laleia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-06
Updated: 2011-04-06
Packaged: 2017-10-17 16:32:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/178798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laleia/pseuds/laleia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A kunoichi is not simply a ninja who is female.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kunoichi

A kunoichi is not simply a ninja who is female. This is a common misconception.

To be kunoichi does not require being born female, or identifying as a woman, or having feminine curves. And merely having any of the above does not award you the title.

To be kunoichi is a choice that, once made, cannot be unmade. To be kunoichi is to do anything necessary to complete your mission.

To some (the laymen, the civilians who listen to rumors and whispers and don't know the day-to-day realities of their fellow citizens in the shadows), kunoichi means whore. To them, kunoichi are prized because they seduce their mark, willing to use their bodies to lull targets into a false sense of security before they strike.

This is another common misconception, as if the task of a kunoichi can be defined in a neat box defined by sex, whether the power of it, the lure of it, or the temptation.

Kunoichi do use sex, it is true, but sex is merely one weapon among an arsenal. For kunoichi, doing anything necessary to complete the mission can range from sucking someone off to murdering a child, can mean six months undercover as a man's wife before slaughtering his family, sometimes requires befriending and developing a fondness for the one you are eventually to kill.

The job of kunoichi is no less bloody than the job of ANBU, nor less dangerous, nor less brutal. The only difference between the two is that ANBU serve as representatives of the Hokage, dispensing justice in a public manner, making clear to all who desired this death dealt _who_ they are to fear. Kunoichi, however, traffick in discretion. A kunoichi assassination will appear to be nothing more than a mundane civilian disturbance.

 _The man beat his wife_ , they whisper. _It was bound to happen sooner or later._ Or, _He always had a liking for the young boys, it is no wonder one of them fought_ _back_. Or, _Who would have guessed her young escort would have murdered her in cold blood for her jewels?_

Whether the missions require remaining undercover for a day, a week, a month, or in one legendary case, three years, to be kunoichi is to do whatever it takes, to wait however long is needed, or put on whichever mask best pleases the target, so that the thing is done. Quietly.

A kunoichi is not just a female ninja. A kunoichi is: subtlety, patience, and ruthlessness.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know Japanese. If you feel that my ignorance in this matter affects your enjoyment of this particular fic in any way, if it rings false or gets something (anything) wrong, please do leave a comment. Of course, if you have something nice to say, that's appreciated, too. :)


End file.
